


Psycho Pass: Fireworks

by SoelleKhiss



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: Anime, F/M, Fanfiction, Psycho Pass - Freeform, Psycho-pass - Freeform, Romance, Shinkane - Freeform, akane - Freeform, kogami
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 13:42:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12865722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoelleKhiss/pseuds/SoelleKhiss
Summary: When Enforcer Shinya Kogami and Inspector Akane Tsunemori decide to take their working relationship to the next level, the results are simply explosive!





	Psycho Pass: Fireworks

Hiding out on the rooftop of the Ministry of Welfare, Shinya Kogami was lying on his back in mid slumber when his wristcom alerted. He was comfortable, far too comfortable to be bothered with an incoming call. Stretched out on a thick bed of verdant bluegrass, he took a deep breath and reveled in a rare moment of peace and quiet. Unwilling to allow any interruption to his solitude, he ignored the message. 

After a week of snow and freezing rain, the sun was finally out and shining. The spring skies were blue, pristine and lucid, with no clouds for as far as the eye could see on the horizon. Though the wind carried a chill, Kogami was sheltered from it by a low retaining wall that marked the boundaries of the meditation garden. Except for his fingertips, he was warm and contented. 

Raising his hand toward the sun, he closed his eyes and let the kneading rays breathe life back into his cold fingers. The wristcom pinged again to remind him of the incoming call. Technically, the reclusive Enforcer was still on the clock—at least for another fifteen minutes. So with much reluctance, he pressed the button to accept the call. “Yeah?”

“Where are you?” Akane asked.

“The roof.”

“Stay put. I’ll be there in just a sec—”

“Why?” Without opening his eyes, Kogami took a deep breath. “What’s this about?”

“Tying up some loose ends on Special Case 32169.”

“I’ll be here,” he sighed, disconnecting the call. The nonchalant tone was a ruse for the truth. Despite the curt nature of his words, Kogami was anxious to see her. The referenced case had been a difficult one that kept Division 1 on the job for the last four days. There had been little time for idle talk or stolen glances while the CID was in full investigation mode.

Kogami did not have long to wait. He heard the chime of the elevator’s arrival; the soft sound of her footsteps on the granite; and then eventually, the rustle of her shoes moving through the grass. The fact that it was artificial turf didn’t matter. She was here. With him. And they were alone.

“The meditation garden, huh? So this is where you hide when Ginoza is looking for you?” 

“Just working on reducing my stress level, Inspector. Is that a crime now?”

“Is that really what you’re doing, Mr. Kogami?”

“No, but it sounded good.” He cocked his head to the side and looked up at her through half-closed eyes. “I was doing a favor for Shion. She needed a guinea pig to check the hologram projector.”

“I hadn’t realized it was broken.” 

“Kagari got a little carried away with the latest Dungeons and Wizards game,” Kogami said. 

“Is that what happened to his face? He gave that black eye to himself?”

“Yep. If you’re feeling brave enough, ask him about it the next time you see him. You might want to have a Dominator handy. He gets a little testy about it.”

Akane laughed helplessly. She covered her mouth with her hands to stifle the loudness. “Some things never change.” Then hands on her hips, she stared down at Kogami. The setting sun cast a halo glow around her head. “I didn’t figure you for someone who enjoyed holos, Mr. Kogami.”

“I’m not, but Shion wanted me to check out her fireworks display.”

“Fireworks?”

“That’s right. Used to love them as a kid.”

“And?”

“She did a nice job. But it’s just not the same. Doesn’t feel like the real thing.” Kogami sat up on his elbows. “What do you need for the case?”

“Digital signature. Inspector Ginoza has decided to close it out.”

Kogami laid back down on the grass and brought the file up on his wristcom. “Done! Ginoza can sleep well tonight. The nefarious paperwork is complete.”

“There’s something to be said for efficiency, Mr. Kogami. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Maybe.” He heard her turn to leave. Anxious to keep his loneliness at bay, he sat up. “Hey? I was wondering if you could do me a favor?”

With a look of mischief in her eyes, Akane crossed her arms over her chest and propped her chin up on her hand. “I do owe you one from the other night.” With a pleasant smile, she asked, “What can I do for you?”

“I need an escort tonight.” The request sounded brazen, more so than he intended. “You know Enforcers can’t go anywhere unescorted, but I need to be somewhere tonight.”

“What time?”

“Say 10:00?”

Akane spun on her heel. “I’ll have a car ready for us in the underground garage. Don’t be late.” She stepped into the elevator and was gone.

Kogami laid back down in the grass and put his arms behind his head as a pillow. The wind shifted, and the scent of her perfume came with it. He sighed, forced to confess, that he missed her already. Setting the alarm on his wristcom, he grinned and settled down for a well-deserved nap. 

* * * *

Kogami pulled the leather backpack against his shoulder as he stepped off the elevator into the shadows of the underground garage. An official MWPSB car was parked at the curb with the engine running, and Akane was waiting for him in the passenger seat. He ducked down to peer through the window at her. “You’re early.”

“Only by five minutes,” she replied with a wink. “That’s considered late in Inspector Ginoza’s book. Where are we going?”

Kogami tossed the bag into the back seat and settled in behind the steering wheel. “Thanks for doing this. I really appreciate it.”

“How could I possibly say no after you saved my life the other night?” She stared at him with unflinching persistence. “But you haven’t answered my question, Mr. Kogami. Where are we going?”

“To the park.” Kogami engaged the manual steering and drove away from MWPSB headquarters.

“The park?” Her curiosity was certainly piqued. 

“The park.” Telling her anything else would ruin his plans for the evening, so Kogami said nothing more. 

Still expecting some explanation from him, Akane stared at Kogami for a long moment. In the absence of any answer, she pulled her knees up to her chin and relented with a quiet sigh. Drumming her fingertips against her legs, she held fast to her inquisitive nature by restraining herself from asking any more questions. When she was nervous, Akane had a credible gift for making small talk. It took only a minute or so for her to find a distraction.

She prattled on about their investigative cases. By reading too deeply into a minor detail, she could take a simple scenario and grow it into an epic. Akane was so invested in the retelling of a recent argument with Kagari, over the proper use of wasabi sauce, that she did not notice that they had come to a stop and were parked in a public lot only a few blocks from the Ministry of Welfare. It wasn’t until Kogami opened the car door and the interior lights came on that she stopped talking in midsentence.

Looking through the windshield, Akane craned her neck from side to side to read the signs posted above the iron-wrought gates. Just as the headlights of the car faded, she asked, “Kitsune Park?” Arms crossed over her chest in feigned indignation, she sat back to stare at him with a suspicious smile. It was her way of teasing him because the rigid gesture reminded the Enforcer of Inspector Ginoza’s usual, unapproachable demeanor.

“Come on, we’re late.” Kogami retrieved the leather backpack from the car and slammed the door. He felt her curious eyes on him and glanced over his shoulder with a nonchalant shrug. “It took a little longer than I expected to get here.” 

“What are you up to, Mr. Kogami?” When he didn’t answer, she followed him through the park entrance.

Meandering along a narrow path into the manicured landscape, Kogami was grateful to the shadows, which hid the roguish smile on his face. Illuminated light posts guided him down a cobblestone path that led to a secluded field of grass and a small hill. A large willow tree sat at the top of the low knoll. Its sinewy branches swayed gently in the cool, night breeze.

Akane continued to follow him in uncertain silence. The back of Kogami’s neck burned with her unspoken questions. “This is the spot,” he said. Without warning, the park lights went out and they were enveloped in complete darkness.

“Kogami?”

“Relax, Inspector. You’re safe,” he said, trying not to laugh. “You’re with me.”

Frightening her, a sudden blast shook the night air and then erupted in the skies above them. Akane yelped in fear and jumped into Kogami’s waiting arms. She was trembling in shock, and he momentarily regretted his ploy of secrecy. With the abrupt explosion, a vibrant splattering of brilliant light and color surged across the darkened skies. 

“Fireworks?” Her body relaxed against him as she stared up in wonder. “Mr. Kogami?”

“Real ones.” Kogami protectively kept his arms around her. “Not some holo.”

“What’s this all about?”

“How else was I supposed to get you out on a date?” Amused by the bewildered expression on her face, he put down the backpack and pulled out a heavy wool blanket. 

Akane watched him spread the thick red and black checkered blanket on the hillside. “A date, Kogami?”

Kogami sat down on the blanket and then stretched out with a satisfying sigh. Gazing up at the fireworks display, he watched the colorful patterns race across the night sky as they competed with the stars for attention. With each discharge, the air shook with thunder, and the darkness lit up with brilliant swatches of yellow, orange, blue, and red. 

Without any invitation, Akane laid down beside him. She covered her legs with the excess fabric to keep warm. “This was your favor?”

“Yep.”

Akane raised her hand up to the sky as if to reach out and touch the magnificent splash of colors dancing in the sky above them. “So this is the real thing? It’s beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Almost feels as if they were going off in my chest.” When she lowered her arm, her hand brushed against his.

Not wanting to move away from her touch, Kogami forced himself to remain still. In time, he surmised, she would be embarrassed and move her own hand away. He was pleasantly surprised when Akane curled her delicate fingers against his palm and interlaced them between his fingers.

“You sure about this?” Kogami asked. “Maybe you just want to kick the tires and take me out for a joyride before you walk away forever.”

Akane gasped in annoyance and elbowed him in the ribs. “Is that your attempt at romance, Mr. Kogami!”

“A weak one,” he admitted.

“Question is...” Akane sat up on her side and leaned toward him. “Are _you_ sure?”

He squeezed her hand gently and turned his head to meet her curious eyes. “I’ve never been more sure of anything, Inspector. But then—“ He sighed sadly and carefully weighed his words. “I have everything to gain here. Everything. While you stand to _lose_ everything—standing, respect, reputation.”

“Does any of that really matter?”

“It matters to me.” Regretting the aggression in his voice, Kogami rolled to his side and perched himself on his elbow. Her hands were cold, and he rubbed what warmth he could into her fingers. “And it should matter to you, Akane.”

“If this is real, then _only_ you matter.” She brushed his lips with her fingertips.

Kogami felt his cheeks burn from her tender touch. He resisted the urge to take her hand and press his lips against every knuckle. She could have asked for the moon at that moment, and he would have murdered the world to bring it to her. “It’s real. I’m real.”

“How far is this going to go, Mr. Kogami?”

“As far as you want to go, Inspector.”

“Are we doing this by the book?”

“There’s a book?” he teased, averting his eyes. “I definitely need to read it.”

Akane tilted her head to one side and smiled. “Will I have to initiate every move?”

“Not every move.” He looked hopefully into her eyes again and prayed that she would not break his heart. “I know what I want. Just need to know you want it, too.” 

“Alright then.” She traced the outline of his forehead with her fingertips and brushed a stray hair from his cheek. “Let’s watch the fireworks and see what happens.”

In a pensive silence, Kogami drove them back to MWPSB headquarters after the fireworks grand finale. It was just before midnight when they walked into the building, and Akane took his arm. She was laying claim to him, but they were alone. There were no pressing investigations, so the CID floor was nearly barren and running on a skeleton crew. The Division 1 offices were dark with the Enforcers confined to their quarters and Ginoza out of the building for the night. 

Having grown increasingly uncomfortable with the outside world, Kogami took solace in their return to the building. This was the world that was familiar to him. He took comfort in the dim corridors and antiseptic atmosphere because, at least here, he understood the boundaries and the rules. He could abide by them but with one notable exception—the delineation between the ranks of Inspector and Enforcer. 

There were no regulations against a relationship between an Inspector and an Enforcer. There was no policy that forbade fraternization in the workplace, so long as it did not interfere with the job or the cycle of investigations. The stigma was a social one, solely, an unspoken rule that divided the population as neatly as a sharp knife.

“You know,” he said as they stepped off the elevator. “I really should be walking you home. If things were different, it would be the other way around.”

“Live in the moment, Mr. Kogami.” Leaning against his arm, Akane rubbed his shoulder and looked up at him with a smile. “Live for the present.” Then, as if remembering where they were, she took a step back from him. Hands clasped in front of her, she bowed politely. “I’m starting to sound a little like you.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Not to me.” She turned to leave. “Thank you for a fabulous evening of fireworks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“See you in the morning? Bright and early?”

“Only if there are chocolate pancakes involved.”

Akane laughed out loud, and then, hesitantly, she walked back down the corridor to the elevator. “Good night, Mr. Kogami.” 

“Good night, Inspector.”

Crushed by the weight of his loneliness, Kogami watched her go until the elevator doors closed, stealing her from his view. He stood in the corridor, alone and crestfallen, and stared into the shadows. His chest was tight with sorrow, and a terrible weight settled onto his shoulders. Solemnly, he turned to his doorway and went inside to the emptiness awaiting him.

Inside the dormitory, Kogami loosened his tie. He stared into the shadows along the kitchen counter and succumbed to his feelings of inadequacy. _Stupid_ , he thought to himself. _So stupid._

He wanted her with a passion so potent and all consuming that it frightened him. Akane was not some object to be owned, but he was willing to be an object and be possessed by her, and her alone, if she would have him. Such was the nature of his desire that he could still sense her presence. The memory of her touch lingered on his shoulders and arms, but the presence was swiftly fading. Kogami was incensed by its loss, feeling himself fall into a void of despair. 

Leaning against the counter, he stared into a half-empty coffee cup and struggled to breathe. The coffee, leftover from breakfast, was cold, and that was what he needed. Something to dampen and cool his spirits. It was time for a very cold shower. Thus, he was in no mood for company when the door sensor chimed. 

Expecting to find Kagari and his insomnia at his doorstep, Kogami sighed heavily and pressed the palms of his hands against his feverish forehead. Before he could get to the entrance, Akane walked through the door and just stood there looking at him. Tears shimmered in her eyes, and her lips quivered as she spoke his name. “Kogami?”

_Who needs to die?_ he thought, prepared to fight for her. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing.” Akane quickly crossed the space separating them. “And everything.” She grabbed his tie and pulled him down to her. Lips parted, she kissed him passionately. Her breath was warm against his face, and she panted as if unable to catch her breath. 

A dumbfounded Kogami stared intently into her eyes. As they parted for air, he saw no uncertainty in her gaze. Cupping her face in his hands, he leaned in for more, fully expecting to be rejected. But his passion was met with zealous enthusiasm as Akane strained at his shirt and pressed herself tightly against his lower torso. 

Kogami ran his hands down along her arms, her waist, and lower spine, and then to the backs of her thighs. He picked her up in his embrace. Discarding her shoes, Akane nearly leaped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his long torso. Locked in a deep, fervent kiss, he swung her around to the counter and, with one hand, shoved the coffee into the sink. 

Lips parted in desire, Kogami kissed her with an intense passion, sighing in ecstasy at the taste of her in his mouth. This was the moment he had dreamed of for what seemed an eternity. Still sensing no hesitation in her, he unfastened the clasp of her skirt, loosening it for unhindered exploration. Akane gasped involuntarily, and he felt her body shudder against him.

Hands anchored beneath her thighs, Kogami carried her to the bedroom and not so gently laid her down on the bed. She sighed heavily, pulling at his clothes, and whispered her expectations in his ear with a wicked smile. Goosebumps raced across Kogami’s skin, and he was aware that he was sweating. 

As Akane hung from his lips, her fingers unbuckled his pants. She helped slip them down across his muscular thighs. Kogami held her up at the waist with one hand, and with the other, helped her to fight free of her jacket. For a moment, they stared at each other until the irresistible call of desire took him back to her mouth, where he was rewarded with a gasp of rapture.

Awakening a deeper passion within him, her soft, euphoric moaning drove him on, as her fingers caressed the back of his neck. Kogami shrugged out of his shirt, and Akane’s hands pulled the fabric from his arms. This left only his tie, which dangled from his neck and down his chest.

Akane grinned at him and grabbed a hold of it. She pulled him down on top of her and wrapped her legs about his waist. Her body shuddered as he planted feather-soft kisses along the graceful curve of her neck and shoulder. His teasing only made her more aggressive, and she arced her back, pressing her shoulders against the mattress. Kogami traced the defined profile of her jawline with his lips and taunted her with the warmth of his breath, even as she clawed at his back.

Akane’s wristcom chimed with an alert, signaling a priority message. “I’m not answering that,” she sighed breathlessly. Pulling him to her lips, Akane embraced the enforcer passionately in her arms. “Don’t stop.”

Moments later, Kogami’s wristcom chirped an alert as well. Trained to heed the call, he stiffened at the tone like a hunting dog freezing at the sound of its master’s whistle. Akane had always been someone that followed the rules and procedures, while he gave no hesitation to stepping out of those bounds. 

“Don’t answer it.” She breathed heavily into his ear.

Kogami was more than happy to comply. He kissed her deeply, ardently, and rejoiced in the way her body responded to his touch. Slipping his hands under her squirming hips, he hooked his thumbs in her panties. Face flushed with excitement and passion, she again arced her back to assist him. 

“Elevated area stress level warning. A psycho pass above the regulation value has been detected in the Avenues Business District.” The emotionless announcement went out building-wide and into every office and room within MWPSB headquarters. “All on-duty Inspectors and Enforcers are required for immediate intervention at the scene. All off-duty personnel have been recalled to active status. Priority Blue. This message will repeat.”

Kogami buried his face in the curve of Akane’s shoulder and exhaled his disappointment. There was no denying the summons, not without consequences. While he was prepared to take any consequences for his actions and hers, he would not endure any blemish to her record for his sake. If he was going to protect her reputation, standing, and respect, as he had promised, this cherished moment would have to wait. 

Holding her tightly in a prolonged embrace, Kogami finally sat back on his knees. This motion gently pulled her body from beneath him and into an upright, sitting position. He held her closely, regretting nothing. With a passionate kiss met by her parted lips, Kogami kissed her again but with less ardor. He planted his final kiss innocently on her chin. 

“Kogami.” The fire of rebellion was there on her lips, even as she laid her head in surrender against his bare shoulder.

“There’s only room for one latent criminal in this relationship.” He smiled when her arms tightened around his neck.

“I know.” Akane looked up at him, her cheeks still flushed and her eyes warm with affection. “To be continued?”

Kogami laughed. “Is that a promise?”

Falling back into the bed and taking him with her, Akane kissed him passionately one last time. “Yes.”

* * * *

Kogami stood behind the line of MWPSB drones at an intersection across from the Maple Avenue Corporation building. The area was referred to as the Avenues Business district due in part to the four city streets that bordered the industries housed there: Maple, Elm, Oak, and Walnut Avenues. Based on the complex, three multi-million dollar corporations called the area home and had singlehandedly skyrocketed the value of the real estate in the community for seven extended blocks.

Word of an elevated stress value was cause for alarm, but more solid information was necessary as there were rumors of a bomb threat in the main office building of a mental health care magnate: MentalCore, a subsidiary owned by the Roninn family. A curious public was kept at bay by the drones and holographic crime scene tape, which prevented them from getting any closer to the area for their own safety. 

The Division 1 Enforcers had been waiting for over an hour with no word from the Inspectors as to why they were on the scene, the nature of the crime, or what action would be taken to restore order. Annoyed by the delay, Kogami tapped a cigarette from the pack and lit it. He tried not to appear as bored as he felt, but his mind lingered in a far sweeter place. 

Standing tall, the distracted Enforcer stretched his back to relieve the stiffness he felt from standing in one place for so long. It was difficult to concentrate with Akane’s perfume on his skin and the sensation of her hands on his neck and face. He was grateful when Masaoka joined him.

“What’ve we got?”

“Some kind of hostage situation,” Masaoka replied. “Ginoza isn’t saying much, but he looks pretty worked up.”

“Never had much of a poker face, did he?”

“Not even as a boy.”

“Hey! MWPSB! Freeze!” Ginoza’s voice rang out from beside the paddy wagon. Serving as a command station, it was parked near the curb directly across from the main entrance to the building. “Stop that man! Enforcers! Kogami! Masaoka!”

Kogami saw a figure in dark clothing running from the MentalCore building. The man was agile, able to dodge a startled Ginoza and a half dozen security drones. Leaping hedge bushes and retaining walls, the suspect worked his way through the maze of security and out toward the street. Kogami grinned in anticipation of the hunt. He threw his cigarette to the ground and immediately gave chase with Masaoka close behind him. 

Hurdling a ten-foot stone wall, the suspect used one of the drones as a lift to make the height and vanished on the other side. To avoid losing his prey, Kogami leaped onto a smaller retaining wall that divided the business courtyard from the public sidewalk. Running along the top with the agility of a jaguar, he was able to avoid the crowded mob of confused drones scuffling for place at the base of the wall. 

Kogami took a daring leap from the ten-foot wall and landed with too much momentum. He was directly on the heels of his prey, but having lost his balance in the process, he was forced to take a forward roll to check himself. This left him two paces behind the suspect with Masaoka some yards behind him. 

“Ko, if this is a potential bomb threat, he might have on a suicide vest!” Masaoka cautioned.

“All the more reason to take him down before he kills innocent people.” Undeterred by the possibility of an explosive device on a madman, Kogami increased his pace and closed in on the suspect.

Winded but keeping pace, Masaoka said, “Get his hands. Might have a deadman’s switch.”

Kogami ran forward with a surge of energy and jumped, rebounding off a nearby storefront. Launching himself at the suspect, he caught a flash of something metallic in the perp’s right hand. Determined to have it, he reached out to get control of the suspect’s hands. Masaoka simultaneously lunged for the man’s legs, tripping him up as Kogami brought him down hard on the asphalt. 

The tangled trio skidded across the street in a muddle of arms and legs. Sharply focused on the danger, Kogami grabbed the fugitive’s right wrist and locked it in a jujitsu lock. The runner yelped in pain and released his hold on the object as Kogami took control of the device. He moved back as Masaoka rolled the perp onto his chest and bent the other arm back, applying painful leverage to the shoulder and neutralizing the left hand.

“Got it, Ko?” Masaoka asked. He brought out a pair of cuffs.

“What the hell is this?” Kogami ran his thumb across a myriad of buttons running the width of the device surface. “A television remote?” 

Masaoka dropped his knee into the back of the suspect’s leg. “Don’t even think about moving.” He peeled back the man’s jacket. “This isn’t a suicide vest. It’s a dummy.” Masaoka pulled at the loose wire running to the fake deadman’s switch in Kogami’s hand. 

Beneath him, the perpetrator laughed maniacally. “MentalCore stole my life and my savings. Left me with nothing. No options except an isolation cell!” the man screamed. “And now I get the final say. I get the final word about their future!” He laughed loudly until Masaoka punched him in the face and knocked him unconscious. 

“The bomb must still be in the building. Ko!”

Kogami didn’t stop to listen. Dropping the remote device in the street, he sprinted back toward the crime scene. He tried to send an alert call to Akane’s wristcom, but she wasn’t answering. Neither was Ginoza. “Shit!” he swore. He realized that the bomber might have set up jamming devices in the area to disrupt any communication signals that might inadvertently set off the bomb. 

“Clear the area!” Kogami yelled. 

“What did you find on him?” Ginoza demanded.

“That man was wearing a dummy suicide vest. The real bomb is still be in the building.” He slid to a stop and looked around anxiously. “Where’s Inspector Tsunemori?”

Ginoza’s face was grim. “Headed for the building with Kagari.”

Ignoring Ginoza’s cries to stop, Kogami renewed his sprint for the front doors of the main office building. The Enforcer spotted Kagari’s red hair as his younger colleague took point, leading Akane toward the front doors. “Akane!” Kogami screamed. “Akane, get back—“

Akane turned to look over her shoulder at him. There was a confused, questioning look in her eyes when the bomb went off with a massive explosion that blasted through the glass doors and windows on the main level. 

Kogami watched helplessly as Akane was thrown forward, stumbling onto her knees, and then sucked back into the front of the building as it collapsed inward on top of itself. She reached out for him, but at 15 yards, he was too far away to grab onto her. 

“Akane!” 

The heat of the blast engulfed him, and Kogami found himself enveloped in a thick, choking smoke that suffocated him. Even as he tried to shield himself, a powerful shockwave of glass shards, splintered metal, and burning rubble blew horizontally across his face like torrents of rain from a powerful hurricane. A secondary blast wave expelled even more debris that hurled large chunks of concrete and other dangerous debris through the air. The last thing he heard was the sound of Akane’s voice, screaming his name above the maelstrom.

“Kogami!”

* * * *

Consciousness returned all at once like a tsunami of glass slivers being driven into his skull. Kogami winced in excruciating pain and pressed his soot-covered palms against his eyes as they burned from a chemical sting. He could not tell what was more painful, the dull daylight or the piercing, unrelenting sound that boomed unmercifully in his ears. Seeing blood on his collar, he held a hand against his right ear and confirmed that he was bleeding from there.

“Lie still, you fool!” Ginoza growled, trying to keep him quiet. “The blast probably perforated your eardrums. Your equilibrium will be off.”

“Akane?” Kogami managed to cough. When Ginoza did not answer, Kogami threw himself to one side in an attempt to get up. The entire world fought him, spinning and hovering before him like a malfunctioning holography program. He stumbled over smoldering debris from the bomb blast and collapsed to the ground where he vomited violently into the rubble.

“Kogami, be reasonable. You need to lie still,” Ginoza said. “There’s nothing you can do right now—“

It was as if Ginoza had declared her dead. Kogami shoved him back with a hard, open palm strike to the chest and glared at the Inspector through hard, narrowed eyes. The force was enough to send Ginoza flailing backwards to the ground. Blundering over his own legs, Kogami stumbled toward the wreckage of the building and left his former friend sitting on the ground.

“Kagari?” Kogami found the Enforcer lying in a heap of broken concrete and rebar. “Kagari!”

“Still breathing,” Kagari whispered. “But don’t ask me if that’s a good thing right now.” He abruptly sucked in his breath as he tried to move his left leg from beneath a piece of heavy concrete.

Blood pooled underneath the ruined concrete girder. “Don’t move,” Kogami said. He slipped the knot of his tie and quickly made it a tourniquet by wrapping it around Kagari’s thigh. 

“Akane—“

“I know.”

“I’m sorry, Ko. One minute she was there, and the next...she was gone.” 

“I’m going to need your help to find her.”

“Is that a question?” Kagari winced in pain as Kogami tightened the tourniquet into a knot. 

Kogami sat back on his haunches. He struggled to gather his wits as the world spun in and out of focus, making him nauseous. “You ready?”

Kagari nodded. “Yeah. Get this thing off my leg.”

Bracing his shoulder against the concrete slab, Kogami grit his teeth and used his legs to push against it. He raised the massive stone up just enough for Kagari to free his leg from the crushing weight.

“Son of a bitch!” Kagari cried out in pain. “If the guy who did this is still breathing, I intend to kill him. _Slowly_. I don’t care what judgment Sybil gives him.”

“He’s breathing.”

“Not for long.”

“You good?”

Kagari gave him a thumbs up. “Let’s find Akane.”

Kogami turned his attention to a collapsed section of wall. Heavy smoke was trailing from beneath it. Though the initial blast had brought a fiery wave in the detonation, most of the flames had been snuffed out in the resulting shockwave. Getting on the ground, he stared beneath a collapsed section of wall. “Akane!” Her name echoed away from him into a void beneath the rubble. He used his flashlight to look down inside and saw a darkened recess that had somehow survived the blast.

“Do you see her?”

“No, but I see where she might be.” Kogami got his fingers beneath the crumbling foundation and struggled to lift it. Tendons strained and popped in protest against the weight. He barely managed to raise it more than an inch from the ground. But suddenly the weight got lighter as Kagari, straining on his wounded leg, joined him. Still, with their combined strength, they only managed to raise the collapsed wall to their ankles. 

They trembled uncontrollably, strength giving away to the impossible weight until Masaoka joined them. The veteran Enforcer got his hands underneath the wall and, using the enhanced strength of his cybernetic arm, raised it up to knee level. Grunting with the effort, Masaoka set his jaw with determination and held the weight steadily. 

“Well, what are you waiting for, Ko?” he said, straining beneath the load. “Get down there and find her.” 

Kogami dropped to his chest and stomach. His eyes stung from the black smoke and chemical taint rising from the rubble below him. Ignoring his discomfort, he arm crawled through the opening they had created.

“When you find her, call it in,” Masaoka said. “Whatever was jamming our communications must have gone up in the blast.”

Flashlight in his mouth, Kogami crawled down into the vacuum left in the wake of the explosion. From the look of the damage, the bomb had been placed in a subsection beneath the building’s main-floor atrium. Most of the floor was blown out or had collapsed, bringing the main level down into what remained of the second. 

“Akane!” Kogami shouted. 

He worked his way through the rubble in the immediate vicinity near the ruined entrance of the building. A rear staircase had fallen into the sub levels. It dangled precariously over his head from splintered cables and twisted rebar. Smoke trailed from a ring of debris, choking him, but he pulled himself through the small opening and crawled onto a pile of smoldering bricks. It was difficult maneuvering, and he singed his palms on the hot ashes, which maintained some heat from the blast. 

Squeezing through another unstable section of ruined concrete, he gasped angrily when a warped nail cut across his cheek. He was less annoyed by the injury and more bothered by his inability to find Akane. Ignoring the blood flowing from the wound, he continued to push his way through the debris, searching for her.

“Akane!” 

She wasn’t answering him, and Kogami was getting fearful that the blast might have killed her. _No, no! Don’t even think it!_

He replayed the last image of her in his head, where she had reached out to him and then been taken by the aftermath of the blast. She had been moving along the center of the sidewalk just behind Kagari. When Kagari stepped off the walkway, she was about to follow him into the hedges beside the main doors. That’s where she stopped, when she heard Kogami screaming her name. 

Staring up at the rubble, he tried to imagine the building as it was before the bomb went off. Kogami closed his eyes and extended his hands out to the side in order to get his bearings in the wreckage. He put himself where he thought she might have been standing at that fateful moment and then opened his eyes. Some 20 feet above him, jutting from the rubble, there was a ledge created from a wall collapse. Kogami could see the back of her hand laying on the edge.

“This is Hound 3 requesting immediate medical assistance,” he said into his wristcom. “Inspector Tsunemori is down. I repeated Inspector down. Requesting immediate emergency medical assistance at my coordinates.“ 

Kogami leaped up to an exposed water pipe, not realizing that it had been sheared in the blast. The sharp metal cut deep into his fingers. Caught off guard by the heat, the pain, and the sudden slipperiness of blood, he lost his grip and fell back into the rubble. He landed hard on the jagged rocks behind him. Undeterred, the Enforcer got back to his feet. Reaching with caution for sturdy handholds and avoiding any metal, he crawled his way to the top of the ruined section and found Akane lying on her back. 

“Akane!” Though he called to her, she laid unresponsive even to his touch. Shrugging out of his gray jacket, Kogami wrapped it around her and held her in his arms. “Akane?”

Bending an ear to her nostrils, he listened intently. She wasn’t breathing. Hands shaking in fear, he struggled to find a pulse. Kogami laid her out flat on the rubble-strewn slab and clasped his hands together over her chest. He hovered there above her sternum, too afraid to offer any more harm to her shell-shocked body. Gritting his teeth, he swallowed that fear and began the chest compressions, forcefully and with purpose. He paused after the prescribed number and listened for breath sounds. There were none, and he felt no warmth against his skin. 

A trickle of blood ran from her forehead. More blood came from her ears. Tilting her head back, he gently put his lips over hers and breathed into her mouth, watching as her chest rose and fell with his efforts. His eyes burned with tears, thinking how only a few hours ago, these same lips had responded so passionately to his touch. Now they were growing blue and lifeless. 

Kogami clenched his eyes shut and struggled to control himself as he faced an inevitable truth. “Akane, don’t—don’t do this,” he whispered. His lips brushed against hers, but she remained unresponsive. In despair, he pressed his forehead against hers. “Akane, please.”

“Kogami?” Feebly, she grasped at his sleeve. Her eyes fluttered open, tears spilling from the corners when she saw him. “You’re hurt.” She tried to reach for the cut on his cheek, but was too weak to extend her hand.

“It’s nothing.” Kogami took her hand and held it against his mouth, pressing her cold fingers against his lips to warm them. “Help’s on the way.” 

“I’m afraid.”

“Don’t be,” he said. Supporting her neck, Kogami cradled her head against his shoulder. “I’m here. I’ll always be right here.”

“I don’t ever want to hurt you,” she mumbled deliriously.

“Hurt me? I’m a cyborg, remember?” 

“Kogami? What does love feel like?” 

Biting his lips to fight back his emotions, Kogami embraced her tightly. He knew the answer to her question about love, at least his definition, but was too afraid to tell her, even while they were alone in the shadows. Even with her at death’s door. “It feels like fireworks going off in your chest.”

“Fireworks?” Akane smiled at him. Her voice trailed off with that final word.

“Akane?” He shook her gently, staring into her face. “Akane!” His desperate voice echoed in the void of the ruined recess. “ _Akane_!”

* * * *

Kogami stood rigidly by the door of the medical observation room. Unless someone was willing to risk bodily injury, he would not be moved. Having refused any medical treatment, he stared into the examination area as a team of doctors and nurses fought to stabilize Akane. While initially uninjured in the blast, she had suffered a severe head injury. Trauma suffered as a result of being caught in the falling debris. 

Only moments after being rescued from the rubble, she began to seize, experiencing violent convulsions. Despite heavy dosages of sedatives and muscle relaxants, her body twitched and drew itself into unnatural contortions so severe that it made Kogami cringe. For her safety and their own, the trauma team had her strapped down to the bed by her wrists and ankles. But even in restraints, her body, twisting erratically, fought to be free of them.

It was difficult to observe from a distance, and Kogami grit his teeth until his jaw ached. At first, pacing the line of windows and watching as they worked on her, had helped him, but soon this only served to heighten his agitation and sense of helplessness. So he stood stiffly at the door, glaring at anyone who came near it or through it, with his hands shoved in his pockets. 

“There’s nothing we can do for her now,” Ginoza said. “We should returned to the CID floor and sort through the information that we have.”

“I’m not leaving,” Kogami said.

“What did you say?”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Kogami, I understand that you’re upset about what happened to Inspector Tsunemori. We all are. But we can’t help Akane standing here. Justice can be had by putting together the pieces of this case and solving it.”

“What’s to solve? The perp’s in custody. He even confessed,” Kagari said. “As to why, he’s not really saying. And you won’t let me have a crack at him. So for the time being: case closed—pending a motive.”

“Leave, if you want,” Kogami whispered. “I’ll be right here when she wakes up.”

“You’re out of line, Enforcer.” Ginoza reached for Kogami’s sleeve.

“I wouldn’t do that, if you want to keep that hand, Inspector.”

“Simmer down—both of you,” Masaoka said, getting between them. 

Ginoza shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose and glared at Kogami over the rims. “You’ve got three minutes to make your peace with the situation. Don’t force me to take corrective action.” He took the lack of a response from Kogami as compliance. “Three minutes and then we’re leaving.”

“He means it, Ko.” Masaoka put a hand on Kogami’s shoulder and, with a reassuring squeeze, tried to calm him. “Can I get you something? A coffee? Water? A cigarette? You look like hell.” 

It was becoming increasingly more difficult to breathe. Desperate to keep control of himself, Kogami fought to remain calm. He was fearless in a fight, taking blows or delivering them, experiencing pain, and suppressing it with an iron strength of will. But at the moment, he was on the verge of a mental breakdown with one foot squarely over the line of sanity. 

Inside the observation room, Akane’s body bucked and flailed violently. Caught unawares in the fury of the convulsion, one of the nurses was knocked down to the floor. Kogami threw himself at the glass, but restrained him from going inside the room. Remaining in the waiting area, he could think of nothing but being at her side.

The chief physician rushed to the door. His face lined with worry, he pulled down the surgical mask. “Inspector Ginoza?”

“Dr. Iseya, what’s the prognosis?”

“Is their next of kin?”

Kogami slammed his head against the glass wall and rested his forehead against the cold glass. Loosening his tie, he felt faint, unable to breathe as his mind violently grasped for the adrenalin of fight-or-flight mode. “What—what exactly does that mean?” 

“Easy, Ko,” Masaoka whispered at his side. “This isn’t helping matters.”

“There are,” Ginoza said slowly. “Her parents and a grandmother.”

“Contact them. We’ve done everything we can,” Dr. Iseya said. “Her head injury is severe. How severe we can’t be certain yet because we can’t get her quiet enough to thoroughly examine her. We’re going to try another round of medications.”

“The sedatives aren’t working, and you want to give her more? What will that accomplish?” Kogami demanded.

“We need to assess if there is any swelling on the brain.” Clearly intimidated by the contentious Enforcer, Iseya bowed his head in concern. “Another round of sedatives should work.”

“Or kill her,” Kogami growled. “That’s why you want to contact her family, isn’t it?” Shrugging out of his gray jacket, Kogami pushed his way passed the wary doctor and into the observation room. 

Knowing Kogami from frequent treatments in the medical bay, Iseya knew the Enforcer’s volatile moods as well as his lack of patience for authority. He stepped back and looked at Ginoza to control his temperamental subordinate.

“Enforcer Kogami!” Ginoza shouted. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“What I’m meant to do. Protect her.” He paused only a moment to toss the jacket over a monitor and take off his shoes. Trailing after him, Ginoza was met at the door and detained by Masaoka.

“Let him try,” Masaoka pleaded. “We can’t just stand here and watch them pump her full of meds that might kill her.” His appeal did little to appease Ginoza who continued to push his way into the room after Kogami.

Limping on a badly lacerated ankle, Kagari joined in by laying his crutch across the doorway to prevent Ginoza from entering the observation room. “Sorry, Inspector, but this isn’t your call.”

Kogami undid the restraints tying Akane down. She continued to flail and convulse, and he struggled to keep her body on the bed and himself from injury. Suffering a fist to the face, the Enforcer held her slender wrists in one hand and crawled into the bed, positioning himself directly behind her. As if recognizing his presence, she struggled less, and he took some comfort in that. Careful to avoid the bandaged crown of her head, Kogami held her against his chest and caressed her face and hair. 

“Remember when you asked me what love feels like?” he whispered in her ear. “I didn’t tell you the truth. Not entirely. It does feel like fireworks going off in your chest, but it’s so much more.” Kogami carefully removed the neck brace and stabilized her head as he settled back into the bed and laid her against him. He rested his head against hers and took a deep breath, exhaling his fear. “Love is when you find someone and discover that you can’t live without with them.” 

Though the convulsions continued, the movement of her legs and arms grew less erratic. Closing his eyes, he wrapped his long arms about her and held her hands. “ _I can’t live without you_.” With a final spasm, Akane was still. She sighed, long and deeply, and then her body relaxed against him. Slowly, she turned her face toward his and cradled her head in the warmth of his neck and shoulder. 

“What did you do?” Dr. Iseya asked in disbelief.

“I held her like this while we were buried under the rubble.”

“Was she convulsing?”

“Not at first. It started when the medical crew took her away from me. She stopped when they let me ride along in the ambulance.”

“He’s right,” a nurse whispered over Iseya’s shoulder. “She started seizing again the moment she arrived in the medical bay.”

Turning to Ginoza, Iseya said, “We’re going to need this Enforcer here until Inspector Tsunemori stabilizes.” 

Unable to argue with the authority of the MWPSB’s chief physician, Ginoza shook free of Masaoka’s grip. He glared at him and then at Kagari. “We’re down one Enforcer for the moment. Get back to the CID. I want answers, and I don’t care if you have to work through the dawn.” He cast his steely gaze back at Kogami before turning away from the door. “Kagari, you want a shot at the bomber? You’ll get five minutes. No more.”

“All I need is three,” Kagari replied. “The rest is payback.”

“Take care of the little lady, Ko,” Masaoka said.

“You can bet solid on that, pops.”

Dr. Iseya tossed a thermal blanket over Akane and tucked it under her legs. He put another one over her arms and torso, partially covering Kogami up as well. “We have a few tests to run, if you don’t mind, Mr. Kogami. But Inspector Tsunemori will be staying with you. While the nurse sets up the equipment, let’s have a look at those injuries, shall we?”

Unwilling to comply, Kogami fiercely glared at him. Then nodding politely, he stared down at Akane’s peaceful face. “Alright.” He closed his eyes and took comfort in her warmth. “Thank you.”

* * * *

A warm blue-white lamp cast a single, obtrusive beam of illumination from a simulated skylight that penetrated the darkness of the medical observation room. Kogami stared into the shadows beyond the room. There was no danger here, not any that was visible, but he remained ever vigilant and alert as he watched over Akane. His head was heavy and weariness hung about his shoulders like a python, but he was determined to remain awake in case she opened her eyes.

_She shouldn’t be alone._

After a battery of tests that put him in the most awkward positions to accommodate the lab equipment and the trauma team, Kogami and Akane were together in a hospital bed. He was in a semi-reclined position behind her as Akane slept soundly on top of him. She snored softly in the dimness, and it took everything he had not to laugh and possibly disturb her from slumber.

She awoke briefly to shift to a more restful position. Dissatisfied with her _body_ pillow, she pressed her fingers into his chest muscles to get more comfortable before settling back into the warmth between his arms and his legs. Her tiny fingers tickled, and though he tried to remain still, Kogami tensed his muscles making himself a much less comfortable cushion. So she pressed harder, and he flinched, waking her up.

“Hey, keep that up and you’ll ruin the merchandise.”

“Mr. Kogami?” Eyes half closed with sleep, she looked up at him. “What are you doing in my bed?”

“There are a lot of things I’d like to be doing,” he said with a mischievous grin. “But I’m not sure you’re up to it.”

“How did you get into my apartment?”

“You’re in the medical bay back at MWPSB headquarters. Don’t you remember?”

Akane pushed herself upright on her arms. “The explosion! You were calling my name. But I—I got caught in the blast— _we_ were caught in the blast! Kagari?”

“He’s fine,” Kogami assured. “He was released earlier this evening.”

“How long have I been here?”

“Twelve hours judging from the rigor mortis in my legs. And despite not having a smoke in all that time, the hands are still steady.” Kogami held his hands out flat in front of her to show their steadiness. 

“You’ve been here the _whole_ time.”

“Yep, much to Ginoza’s displeasure.”

“Why?”

“You took a pretty good hit to the head, Inspector. Docs tried to stabilize you but couldn’t. They kept pumping you full of drugs and that wasn’t working. I had to protect you. From _them_.”

“Kogami,” she growled. “What did you do?”

“Showed my teeth, but only a little. Dr. Iseya didn’t know what to do, but I did. It worked, so here I am.”

“And they let you stay.”

“Unless Ginoza paralyzed me with a Dominator, I wasn’t leaving. You owe me, _again_.”

“Were you hurt? I remember you running back to the building.”

“At least _some_ of your memory is intact. How much do you remember?” With a hint of embarrassment, he wondered if she had heard his impassioned pleas.

Akane concentrated for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. “Not much. Just waking up here. With you.”

“Good to know.”

She ran her fingers across the bruise under his eye and the bandaged cut on his cheek. Taking his bandaged hand in hers, she whispered, “You _were_ hurt.”

“Couple of scrapes. A minor concussion from the blast. Thanks to a hard head.” He rubbed his thumb across her face to wipe away a tear. “What’s that say about your head? A whole building landed on you.”

She slapped his thigh, but remained nestled against his lower chest. “I think I’m going to be alright,” Akane said. “You should go and get some rest.”

“I’m not leaving.”

Akane sat up again and glared at him. “Kogami, you’ve been here for 12 hours.”

“And I’ll be here another 12 if that’s what it takes.”

“I could always order you back to your dormitory.”

“You could try.”

She frowned at his insubordinate challenge to her rank and authority. “Mr. Kogami, I order you to leave this room and return to your dormitory to get some rest.”

There was a genuine bite to her tone. She was serious, but Kogami recognized that the last thing she wanted was for him to leave. “Unless you have a Dominator under those covers, I’m not leaving. And even if you shot me, I’d just end up in a bed right next to you.” He yawned mightily and stretched his stiff legs. “So get used to it.”

“Ginoza is right. You _are_ incorrigible.”

“And that’s why you love me.”

Her eyes suddenly filled with tears, and her lips quivered.

“What’s wrong!” Kogami sat up and held her shoulders. He reached for the nurse’s call button.

Akane gently pulled his hand away from the panic button. “It’s just...I think...I think I do love you, Shinya Kogami. And that frightens me.”

Averting his eyes, he sighed sadly. “I knew this was a bad idea.”

“Not if you really meant what you said in the park.” She raised his chin to meet her eyes. “Did you?”

“One hundred percent.”

“Then it’s settled.” Akane tenderly caressed his face and pulled him down to her for a kiss. 

There was passion in her, but this was not the time to act on it. So before things could go too far, he pulled away. “I have something for you.”

“You do?” Pulling the blankets up to her chin, she laid her head on his chest. “I hope it’s food. I’m starving.”

Kogami laughed. “Well, I can arrange to get you something to eat, but this is different.” He tapped a control button on his wristcom. “Hey, Shion, you ready?”

“Is she awake? Is she okay?”

“She’ll be back on the CID floor annoying me in no time,” he replied.

“Hi, Akane, glad you’re okay,” Shion said.

“Thanks, Shion,” Akane replied to the system analyst.

“You had us really worried there, especially Shinya. Can’t think of a better way to celebrate your recovery. Give me one moment. There. Is it working?”

Through the manipulation of the ceiling projector, the hospital room was transformed via holography into a grassy hillside at night time. Stars were shining brightly overhead, but they were soon dimmed and cast away as a flurry of fireworks erupted across the skies. The displays came in multiple bursts of three and five, which scattered remnants of color across Akane’s blanket.

“I made a few tweaks to my original program and added sound. How’s it look, Shinya?” Shion asked.

“Perfect,” Kogami reported. He gazed up at the display of color with a smile and listened to the subdued sounds of the shells bursting in midair.

“I can turn up the sound, but after what you two have recently experienced, that might be a bad idea.”

“Crank it up, Shion. We can take it.”

“Alright, but when Ginoza gets the noise complaint, I’m blaming you.”

“Fair enough.”

“Night, night, kids. Please do _everything_ and _anything_ that I would do. Ta-ta for now!” The signal went dead as the systems analyst signed off.

Snuggling up beneath the blankets, Akane leaned against him. “Kogami, you’re right, you know. Love does feel like fireworks going off in your chest. But all the fireworks in the world could never make my heart beat as fast as it does whenever I’m with you.” 

Kogami gasped, “You heard me? But you were unconscious—“

“Hush.” Akane tenderly pinched his lips together and silenced his fretting with a kiss. Twirling her fingers in the loose folds of his shirt, she made herself comfortable on his chest and laid her head against his shoulder. “Now get some sleep, Enforcer.”

Kogami embraced her, wrapping his muscular arms around her shoulders. “Is that an order, Inspector?”

“If it needs to be...yes.” Intertwining her fingers with his, Akane took his hand and pulled his arm about her waist. “Do I need a Dominator for that order?”

“No,” he sighed, resting his chin on the crown of her head.

Akane shifted position to get more comfortable and embraced him as if he were a giant, stuffed panda. “Does this mean I might get you to be nicer to Ginoza?”

“Maybe,” he relented.

“What’s that going to cost me?”

Her question brought a wicked grin to Kogami’s face. “I have a few ideas.”

“Seriously?”

As the holographic fireworks display imploded with lights, colors, and sound above them, Kogami laid his head back against the pillow and closed his eyes. “That’s a tall order, Inspector. Don’t push your luck.”


End file.
